I can just hear the man mountain assumptions being typed out round the country. Camera guy makes sure to shoot from below to make him look even bigger than he is (he's not small by any stretch) And tells him to flex those biceps. Ben Davies barely got a picture to put on his wall lol
Hard to see Ben Davies as anything other than a Caulker-like stop gap with no potential or future at the club. Nothing wrong with that but it's just a bit unusual for us given how well we have operated over the past 3-4 years. Hopefully he comes in and does a solid job - he has some attributes which we're currently lacking given the injuries - pace, and good passing. He could be useful in certain games. Kabak is a typical LFC signing - young and a lot of potential. The concern is that I would have preferred someone a bit older and experience to come in at this moment in time because Kabak will come straight into a makeshift defence and be expected to hold it together until the end of the season (or until VVD, Gomez or Matip come back). Reflecting back, getting him for £1m plus £18m option to buy could be incredible business by the club. I haven't seen a lot of him but from what I have seen and what I read, he is highly rated and considered to be one of the best young CB's across Europe. What are his attributes? Aggressive, used to playing a high line, relatively quick, decent on the ball and a monster in the air. The concerns for me are his inexperience and youth, and he can be too aggressive. Not a glowing recommendation but he is like Lovren. Difference is, Kabak is young and could iron out those issues with proper coaching.
what is our outlay? A couple of million? Getting these two in at these prices Is something of a master stroke imo. Are they good enough? We’ll soon see I guess but the risk is minuscule and the potential reward is very high. Edwards has worked his magic again. Very smart.
have you ever seen ben davies play? judge with your eyes not your biases I've not seen him play so won't judge unitl I can see him. You can tell within 10 minutes looking imo what he has about him. Kabak is cheap right now. I don't believe half the guff floating about about rejected offers and enquiries. We've got a guy for a million. beggers and choosers comes to mind here. Again if you've not seen much but are already equating him to lovren then thats biases at play sorry. We all know our mate dejan had a full lovren setting where blind panic set in. lets not tar a kid who might be "aggressive" with being a total flapper. there is a massive difference. Open minds on these things is the only way to go.
Our outlay is 0.5mil on davies with bonues based on our and his success. (a sell on clause too) Our outlay on kabal is 1mil upfront and more bonuses based on CL. You basically couldn't get players cheaper outside the mustafi route.
Nope - not seen Davies play other than a few clips. As mentioned, he looks quick and is a good passer. I will reserve judgement until he starts playing for us but my point was around the overall strategy and Davies is not a usual signing for us - he screams panic buy. That's irrespective of his ability. e.g. we could have signed a season professional / ex world class player like Falcao or Cavani. Just because they're a big name doesn't mean that it's not a panic buy. As mentioned (again), I may not have seen Kabak play much but I have seen a few of his games and I am going off the opinion of people I trust when it comes to football, and they all rate him highly. I actually am excited by his signing. He is aggressive but plays in a similar style to Lovren. That's not to say he is exactly like Lovren, or he will become the next Lovren or whatever. It's a general comparison. If you haven't seen him play, then fair enough. Don't comment until he does.
I think that Klopp actually said about Davies that we wouldn’t normally look but then, when they did look, they thought ‘wow’. He’s the best player in a team playing in the championship. So he’s most likely already better than Williams and Phillips. We will soon see, won’t we. If nothing else. He’ll be a decent 4th choice. When all fit; Vvd, Gomez, Kabak, Davies and then Fab. Matip will surely go this summer. Shame really, when fit he’s a decent player.
They're basically stop-gap punts which, if they work out, will be bargains, and if not, then minimal losses. The fact that we refused to make the purchase option on Kabak an obligation suggests he still needs to prove himself to us. It will be interesting to see if either can cement thenselves into long-term plans and still be here after the summer.
Yep, hopefully he proves us wrong and puts in good performances. VVD, Gomez, Kabak and we need to sign one more quality CB IMO. Davies can be 5th choice.
Jimmy when you say Davies screams of a panic buy I can and can't agree Tbf we are/were in a panic situation when we bought him but I doubt very much some if not extensive scouting info was in place already to make the decision easier. Excited about this kabak fella tho. Let's hope he slots in like a glove straight away so we can kick on and get some fukin points laid down.
Haha - I highly doubt Davies was a target for us had it not been for our desperate position. We have to remember that we didn't have any other non HG spots in the squad so we had to go for someone HG or else we had to unregister someone. I have no problems with us going for players who aren't well known or from lower clubs. But that usually applies to players who have some top level experience or are talented youngsters. Davies is neither. And I do want to reiterate but that I'm not having a go at the player or his ability - I'm questioning the overall strategy and decision making behind it, because it goes against what we normally do. It's not right or wrong in anyway - its just different.
Klopp is talking about getting Matip fit for pre-season in the summer so we may be looking to keep him. Could be just talk of course.
It would suggest he was not a first choice or that we really are strapped for cash and it gives us a chance to defer payment until the summer. But what I really think is that Matip will be gone this summer and we are targeting a RCB (Kabak could be the long term option). And I suspect we do sign a LCB in the summer.
That's not quite what I meant. In an ideal world, both turn out to be really good and stay with us for many years. But I don't think either would have come now if it wasn't for the injuries. I know we've been looking at Kabak for a while, but he would probably have come in the summer if at all. Now both about half a season to convince Klopp, otherwise they'll either be sold or returned. The Kabak deal only seemed to harden once the deal for Caleta Car fell through, and we were linked with Botman and a couple of others as well, so maybe we'll put bids in for them in the summer if we're more convinced on them than Kabak. I agree that he's probably more likely to be in our long-term plans than Davies though, but who knows - maybe Davies is the next Vardy (different position obviously).
Hope he is quick. Not much point us upgrading Williams and Phillips if they're only the same pace as them.
